First Aid Kit Pay Tribute To David Berman With Lovely Original + Silver Jews Cover

First Aid Kit - Random Rules
In tribute to the memory of singer/songwriter David Berman Swedish roots duo First Aid Kit has released two songs; the original “Strange Beauty” and their rendition of Berman’s band Silver Jews’ “Random Rules.”

In speaking about David Berman and their homage to his life and legacy, Klara Söderberg says: “I think a lot of people were as shocked as I was upon hearing the news of David Berman’s passing. It didn’t seem real. It left me completely devastated. So I wrote the song ‘Strange Beauty’ to try to make sense of my feelings.” She continues, “‘Random Rules’ is a long time Berman favorite of ours and a song we always thought we would record if we ever made a cover album. It holds some of the greatest lyrics ever penned and shows the genius of David Berman. We hope the songs can be some kind of comfort.”

After struggling for years with addiction Berman died by suicide on August 7, 2019, in Brooklyn, New York.

Hear the solemn and sparse “Strange Beauty” and their rendition of “Random Rules” swell as Silver Jews’ below.

Cody Jinks Announces New Album ‘After the Fire’ Coming This Fall

Cody Jinks

Insurgent country artist Cody Jinks will release his next independent LP ‘After the Fire’ on October 11th, the album is the first to be released via the Texas songwriter’s own label, Late August Records.

Last April Jinks posted photos from West Texas’ Sonic Ranch studio, where he recorded his last three albums – Adobe Sessions, I’m Not The Devil and Lifers – teasing new music on the way.

This is one release Casa Twang will be looking forward to this coming fall.

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Day 3 at Sonic Ranch!

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‘After the Fire’ tracklist:

After the Fire
Ain’t a Train
Yesterday Again
Tell ’em What It’s Like
Think Like You Think
William and Wanda
One Good Decision
Dreamed With One
Someone to You
Tonedeaf Boogie

Watch Out! Kelsey Waldon – “Sunday’s Children”

Kelsey Waldon

Kelsey Waldon has released a lyric video for “Sunday’s Children,” he second single from her upcoming Oh Boy! Records release “White Noise/White Lines.”

The song is a Southern-fried soul-song urging awareness, unity, and understanding and to accept each other’s differences and look for “universal truth.”

It’s a cool song and Waldon pulls it off without beating the listener over the head with an overt partisan sermon. That’s a rare thing in these times.

The first single from the album, “Anyhow,” was released in early July.

Pre-order “White Noise/White Lines.”

Unreleased Lee Hazlewood out This Fall

Lee Hazlewood

Light in the Attic Records continues its Lee Hazlewood archival series with 400 Miles From L.A. 1955-56, a collection of previously unknown demo recordings that reveal the talents of the late songwriter, producer, and artist from a very early stage in his career. (out Sept. 13th on CD/vinyl and digitally),

Lost for over 60 years, these recently unearthed recordings find Hazlewood in Phoenix, AZ, honing his songwriting skills as he shuttled himself back and forth on a Greyhound bus to Los Angeles in hopes of landing a hit song. These early sketches and unheard gems further expand on Hazlewood’s influential recorded history, adding a new first chapter to his legacy that comes a full decade before his song “These Boots Are Made For Walking” became a smash hit for Nancy Sinatra.

A songwriter by trade, Hazlewood kept for himself the songs that weren’t snatched up by larger-profile artists (such as “Houston” by Dean Martin and “This Town” by Frank Sinatra), yet never quite achieved the success in his own time that others had with his compositions. He would go on to be discovered and recognized by latter-day champions in Beck, Sonic Youth, Jarvis Cocker and Spiritualized, who appreciated Lee for his unique sonic gifts as a producer and writer.

A natural wanderer, Lee lived a big life, serving for the U.S. Army in the Korean War, working as a radio DJ in Phoenix, Arizona, setting up Viv Records in the ‘50s, producing hits for Duane Eddy and Sanford Clark, working as a big-shot L.A. producer in the ‘60s, signing Phil Spector to his Trey Records label and prematurely announcing retirement in the wake of the mid-‘60s British invasion. He didn’t: Nancy Sinatra came along, the hits started flowing and he continued producing characterful solo albums into the ‘70s.

Starting in 2012, Light In The Attic became the official custodians of the Lee Hazlewood musical legacy, launching their archival series with The LHI Years: Singles, Nudes & Backsides (1968-71). In 2015, they garnered a GRAMMY nomination for Best Historical Album with their release of There’s A Dream I’ve Been Saving: Lee Hazlewood Industries 1966 – 1971 (2014).

The LP and CD packages contain new liner notes by Hazlewood guru Hunter Lea, featuring an interview with Arizona music historian John Dixon. The Light In The Attic Online Exclusive Bundle (available only at LightInTheAttic.net) is pressed on colored vinyl and includes a treasure trove of Hazlewood collectibles created especially for this release: a travel journal, 18”x 24” silkscreen print, shot glass, and a set of “Labels of Lee” drink coasters, all crafted in cooperation with the Hazlewood estate.

Pre-order Lee Hazlewood archival series “400 Miles From L.A. 1955-56.”

Track Listing:
1. Cross Country Bus
2. The Woman I Love
3. Five Thousand and One
4. Lonesome Day
5. A Lady Called Blues
6. Five More Miles to Folsom
7. Fort Worth
8. The Old Man and His Guitar
9. Peculiar Guy
10. Long Black Train
11. I Guess It’s Love
12. It’s An Actuality
13. Buying On Time
14. The Country Bus Tune
15. Long Black Train
16. Run Boy Run
17. Big Joe Slade
18. Son of a Gun
19. Georgia Chain Gang
20. Look At That Woman
21. Peculiar Guy
22. The Railroad Song
23. Six Feet of Chain
24. Trouble Is A Lonesome Town

Sturgill Simpson Announces New Album and Anime Tie-In

Sturgill Simpson (photo by Semi Song)
Sturgill Simpson (photo by Semi Song)

Few artists are less willing to rest on their laurels than Sturgill Simpson.

In his latest gutsy move, Sturgill Simpson announced last weekend at San Diego’s Comic-Con that his upcoming new album, “Sound & Fury,” will be paired with an anime film of the same title to be released simultaneously on Netflix. The anime
is written and directed by CG studio Kamikaze Douga founder Jumpei Mizusaki.

Simpson emerged as part of an outlaw country resurgence the release of his second LP, “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music.” Much like the original outlaw country pioneers, Simpson was taking control of the trajectory of his career resulting in fans and media accolades as the mainstream country radio did what they always do and shied away from the risky weirdness of “Turtles All the Way Down.”

Simpson doubled-down on following his contrarian muse with 2016’s “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth,” a loosely assembled concept album with songs inspired by his time in the Navy. The album moved further from the jet-fueled honky-tonk that defined his early career and embraced his love of rock, soul, and psychedelia. ironically Simpsons’ least country album went on to win the 2018 Grammy for Best Country Album.

With this latest announcement, Simpson remains (place genre here) most interesting agent of disruption. He steadfastly refuses o play by Music City rules or typical music career rules in general.

We will all be able to hear and see the latest stop on this sailer’s (pirate’s?) journey when “Sound & Fury” is released in September.

Listen Up! Sturgill Simpson New Song ‘The Dead Don’t Die’

It’s been a long stretch waiting for new music from Sturgill Simpson. Well, folks, the wait is over.

For those concerned that Simpson might jettison his Country Gold classic country sound, take comfort in
“The Dead Don’t Die” a standalone single off the soundtrack from indy filmmaker Jim Jarmusch’s upcoming zombie flick of the same name.

The sound is a melancholy sweetness that warms the heart and brings a tear to all lovers of barroom serenades.
Sure the subject matter is weird, but with Simpson’s smooth croon delivering the weirdness, I’m in!

“The Dead Don’t Die” opens this weekend.

Hank Williams’ ‘Health & Happiness Show’ 1949 Recordings Out This Summer

Before he was a household name Hank Williams was playing late-night road stops, honky-tonks, and early morning radio shows. He, and did many musicians of the time, defined the word hustle.

October 1949, two years before the better-known Mother’s Best Flour radio programs, Hiram King “Hank” Williams recorded eight live-to-disk 15 minute radio programs for distribution to radio stations for promotion.

The name of these programs were billed as ‘Health and Happiness’ shows. The name came from the original sponsor of the programs, the patent medicine company Hadacol Corporation. But the sponsorship was not to be, the Hadocol company went broke leaving the show’s producer removed all of the corporation’s identity from the shows and left blank spaces on recordings to insert a future sponsor name to be inserted at a later date. (More details on that in the press release below)

Contemporary recordings have only been found on ebay since a 2-CD edition of the ‘The Health and Happiness Shows’ was last available the storied Lost Highway Records, but it’s been long out of print since Lost Highway folded a few years back.

Well kids, good times are back again!

From the press release:

On June 14, 2019, BMG will release The Complete Health & Happiness Shows for the first time on vinyl. The 49-track, three-LP set or two-CD contains the eight Health & Happiness episodes in their entirety. Included are performances of his breakout 1949 hits “Lovesick Blues,” “Wedding Blues,” “Mind Your Own Business,” and “You’re Gonna Change (Or I’m Gonna Leave),” along with such other iconic Williams tunes as “I Saw the Light,” “I’m a Long Gone Daddy,” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” (The last song actually came out after the program was recorded in the fall of 1949 but before the show was broadcast in the spring of 1950.)

The set was produced by Cheryl Pawelski, Colin Escott and Michael Graves have produced, written notes and mastered the new set respectively, alongside the rest of the team that was responsible for the Best Historical Album for 2014, The Garden Spot Programs, 1950.

In addition to the amazing performances, this archival collection contains the earliest recorded evidence of the Nashville-era incarnation of Williams’ backing band, the Drifting Cowboys. Sessions for the Health & Happiness Show were done at Nashville’s WSM studios on two successive Sundays in October 1949. They were recorded directly to acetate, which were then duplicated onto 16-inch vinyl discs for distribution to radio stations. For The Complete Health & Happiness Shows, this material has been freshly transferred, restored and mastered from these original 16″ transcription discs.

Escott’s extensive and informative liner notes not only offer illuminating insights on Williams’ music and Health & Happiness Show performances, but he also provides a quite fascinating story about the program itself. The show’s sponsor was Hadocol, an elixir created by a Louisiana state senator named Dylan LeBlanc who aggressively touted for its curative power. While the tonic had some vitamins and minerals, its main ingredient was alcohol. To increase his product’s popularity, LeBlanc staged massive publicity campaigns. These stunts included the Hadocol Caravan, a traveling roadshow whose wildly eccentric bills included Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Jimmy Durante, and Hank Williams. The Hadacol craze imploded spectacularly in 1951 due to huge debts and federal investigations.

Thankfully one positive byproduct of Hadacol PR blitz was The Health & Happiness Show. As Escott states in his liner notes, “the audio quality of his transcriptions equaled, if not surpassed, his commercial recordings.” Williams would go on to do the transcription radio show The Garden Spot in 1950 for sponsor Naughton Farms (these were issued by Omnivore Recordings in 2014), and the Mother’s Best show for WSM in 1951.

The Hadacol scandal did little to damage Hank Williams’ career. Between 1950-52, he continually topped the charts with such now-iconic tunes as “Why Don’t You Love Me,” “Cold, Cold Heart,” “Jambalaya (On the Bayou),” and “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive.” Released in November 1952, “World Alive,” proved to be all-too prophetic as he passed away on New Year’s Day 1953 from heart failure brought on by alcohol and drugs. He was just 29 years old. The Health & Happiness Show sessions capture Williams at a unique moment of time, when he was a rising star still hungry for success and performing at the top of his game.

Pre-order ‘The Complete Health & Happiness Recordings.”

THE COMPLETE HEALTH & HAPPINESS SHOWS TRACKLIST:

RECORD ONE: SIDE ONE
Oct 1949 – Health & Happiness Show 1
Happy Rovin’ Cowboy (Theme)
Wedding Bells
Lovesick Blues
Old Joe Clark (featuring Jerry Rivers)
Where The Soul Of Man Never Dies (featuring Audrey Williams)
Sally Goodin’ (featuring Jerry Rivers)
Oct 1949 – Health & Happiness Show 2
Happy Rovin’ Cowboy (Theme)
You’re Gonna Change (Or I’m Gonna Leave)

RECORD ONE: SIDE TWO
(There’s A Bluebird) On Your Windowsill (featuring Audrey Williams)
A Tramp On The Street
Sally Goodin’ (featuring Jerry Rivers)
Oct 1949 – Health & Happiness Show 3
Happy Rovin’ Cowboy (Theme)
I’m A Long Gone Daddy
I’m Telling You (featuring Audrey Williams)
Bill Cheatham (featuring Jerry Rivers)

RECORD TWO: SIDE ONE
When God Comes And Gathers His Jewels
Sally Goodin – Jerry Rivers
Oct 1949 – Health & Happiness Show 4
Happy Rovin’ Cowboy (Theme)
Lost Highway
I Want To Live And Love (featuring Audrey Williams)
Bile Them Cabbage Down (featuring Jerry Rivers)
I’ll Have A New Body (I’ll Have A New Life)

RECORD TWO: SIDE TWO
Fingers On Fire (featuring Bob McNett)
Sally Goodin’ (featuring Jerry Rivers)
Oct 1949 – Health & Happiness Show 5
Happy Rovin’ Cowboy (Theme)
A Mansion On The Hill
There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight
Wagner (featuring Jerry Rivers)
The Prodigal Son
Sally Goodin’ (featuring Jerry Rivers)

RECORD THREE: SIDE ONE
Oct 1949 – Health & Happiness Show 6
Happy Rovin’ Cowboy (Theme)
Pan American
Lovesick Blues
Arkansas Traveler (featuring Jerry Rivers)
I Saw The Light
Sally Goodin’ (featuring Jerry Rivers)
Oct 1949 – Health & Happiness Show 7
Happy Rovin’ Cowboy (Theme)
Mind Your Own Business

RECORD THREE: SIDE TWO
Wedding Bells
Cotton Eyed Joe (featuring Jerry Rivers)
I’ve Just Told Mama Goodbye
Sally Goodin’ (featuring Jerry Rivers)
Oct 1949 – Health & Happiness Show 8
Happy Rovin’ Cowboy (Theme)
I Can’t Get You Off My Mind
I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
Fisherman’s Hornpipe (featuring Jerry Rivers)
Thy Burdens Are Greater Than Mine
Sally Goodin’ (featuring Jerry Rivers)

Glen Campbell’s Remarkable Life And Catalog Celebrated With Box Set Due This Summer

Glen Campbell – The Legacy [1961-2017]
Whether cutting his teeth as an in-demand session musician for the likes of The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Simon & Garfunkel, The Righteous Brothers, Merle Haggard and so many more as part of The Wrecking Crew, to his rein of the 70’s country charts as a solo performer few artists represent country / pop crossover success like Glen Campbell.

On June 21st Capitol/UMemn will celebrate Campbell’s incredible career with an expanded edition of his long-out-of-print, career-spanning box set (originally released in 2003.)

Glen Campbell – The Legacy [1961-2017] is a four-disc anthology reflecting his storied six-decade career chronicling his hits as well as his late-career renaissance with songs from 2008’s Meet Glen Campbell, 2011’s Ghost On The Canvas, 2014’s soundtrack to his revealing and emotional documentary, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, and 2017’s Adiós, released shortly before he passed away from complications from his long, public battle with Alzheimer’s.
The box set includes a stunning 60-page booklet and updated liner notes by well-known music scribe Joel Selvin who wrote the original liners.

Opening with “Turn Around, Look At Me,” Campbell’s first single released in 1961 shortly after he moved to Los Angeles from Albuquerque to break into the music business, Glen Campbell – The Legacy [1961-2017] includes songs from nearly all of the sixty plus album’s he released in his lifetime, providing an outstanding overview of this influential, rare talent.

The collection traces his early evolution from early career bluegrass tune “Kentucky Means Paradise,” the honky-tonk oldie “Too Late To Worry – Too Blue To Cry,” Buffy St. Marie’s protest anthem “Universal Soldier” and “Guess I’m Dumb,” written and produced by his friend Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys who Campbell substituted for on tour when Wilson bowed out, to his first works with producer Al De Lory, who helped him hone his signature sound with the song that would kickstart his recording career and put him on the map: the 1967 John Hartford-penned masterpiece “Gentle On My Mind.” As Joel Selvin writes in his illuminating liner notes, “Despite a modest chart performance, ‘Gentle On My Mind’ did turn out to be the definitive record of Campbell’s career, the point where he not only took charge of his own artistic destiny but became his own creation.”

The next hit was a song that would end up being a turning point for him. “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” which both introduced a new lush sound for Campbell and a shined a spotlight on a little known songwriter from Oklahoma named Jimmy Webb. The song, which along with “Gentle On My Mind,” helped him make history at the 1967 GRAMMY® Awards by sweeping the song and performance awards in both the pop and country and western categories, was a crossover success that spent an incredible six months on the charts and catapulted Campbell to fame. It also began a fruitful lifelong partnership between the musician and songwriter that would last more than five decades and include some of Campbell’s biggest hits such as “Wichita Lineman” and “Galveston,” which kicks off disc two.

The late ‘60s and early ‘70s were especially prolific for Campbell who, in between starring in his hit TV show “The Glen Campbell Good Time Hour” and becoming a movie star opposite John Wayne in the western “True Grit” (of which he recorded the Oscar-nominated theme song) and his feature film follow-up, “Norwood,” released four albums in 1970 and three more the following year. The Legacy collection includes many of the tracks released during this period including Webb’s “Where’s The Playground Susie,” and “MacArthur Park,” “I Wanna Live” (a number one country hit), and several songs recorded with labelmate Bobbie Gentry including “Let It Be Me,” Scarborough Fair/Canticle,” and the Everly Brothers hit, “All I Have To Do Is Dream.” There’s also Campbell’s version of Roy Orbison’s “Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream),” the sweeping Gordon Lightfoot-penned title track from his album “The Last Time I Saw Her” and a medley with Anne Murray of “I Say A Little Prayer/By The Time I Get To Phoenix.

The second half of the box set features Campbell’s trademark song “Rhinestone Cowboy,” which earned him his first number one record and became his theme in many ways, and his sprightly spin on Allen Toussaint’s “Southern Nights.” More than four decades later Campbell’s rendition of “Southern Nights” would prominently feature in the film and soundtrack to “Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2” introducing a whole new generation to his music. Other highlights include “God Only Knows,” Campbell’s beautiful take on Brian Wilson’s opus, “Sunflower,” a breezy #1 hit written by Neil Diamond and “Highwayman,” which eight years after recording the Jimmy Webb song, Campbell would introduce to Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. They not only used the name for their supergroup but also won a GRAMMY®.

The final disc of the collection, which includes Campbell showcasing his love for gospel and his faith with a stirring live rendition of “Amazing Grace,” and flexing his incredible guitar skills on “Classical Gas,” has been expanded to include songs from his albums released in the 2000s. Included from his acclaimed 2008 album, Meet Glen Campbell, which saw the icon tackle contemporary and classic songs, is his inspired covers of the Foo Fighters “Times Like These,” Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)” and Jackson Browne’s “These Days.” 2011’s Ghost On The Canvas is represented with a spirited take on the Paul Westerberg song of the same name while 2013’s See You There is represented with “Waiting On The Comin’ Of My Lord.”

The last song Campbell ever recorded was “I’m Not Gonna Miss You.” This touching goodbye to his family and fans co-written by him and producer Julian Raymond and recorded with members of The Wrecking Crew, is one of the many high points that round out the box set. The song featured in the documentary “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me,” which chronicles Campbell’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and his final tour, won the GRAMMY® Award for Best Country Song and was nominated for Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards. The retrospective culminates with three songs from Campbell’s bucket list album Adiós, recorded while fighting his disease and released in 2017 to universal acclaim: a banjo-filled take on “Everybody’s Talkin,’” country weeper “It Won’t Bring Her Back” and the bittersweet title track, which brought Campbell’s career full circle by reuniting him one last time with his lifelong collaborator Jimmy Webb.

Glen Campbell – The Legacy [1961-2017] pays honor to Campbell’s exceptional legacy and celebrates the timeless music of one of the best singers and musicians the world has ever known with a lovingly compiled, comprehensive collection that is a must for longtime fans and anyone who wants to learn more about Glen Campbell’s singular musical journey.

Pre-order GLEN CAMPBELL – THE LEGACY [1961-2017]

GLEN CAMPBELL – THE LEGACY [1961-2017] TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE
1. Turn Around, Look At
2. Kentucky Means Paradise (The Green River Boys featuring Glen Campbell)
3. Too Late To Worry – Too Blue To Cry
4. Universal Soldier
5. Guess I’m Dumb
6. Burning Bridges
7. Just To Satisfy You
8. Less Of Me
9. Gentle On My Mind
10. Crying
11. By The Time I Get To Phoenix
12. Tomorrow Never Comes
13. Hey, Little One
14. I Wanna Live
15. Turn Around And Look At Me (New Version)
16. The Legend Of Bonnie And Clyde
17. Let It Be Me (Glen Campbell & Bobbie Gentry)
18. Scarborough Fair / Canticle (Glen Campbell & Bobbie Gentry)
19. Wichita Lineman
20. Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife
21. Reason To Believe

DISC TWO
1. Galveston
2. Where’s The Playground Susie
3. If This Is Love
4. True Grit
5. Try A Little Kindness
6. Honey, Come Back
7. One Pair Of Hands
8. All I Have To Do Is Dream (Glen Campbell & Bobbie Gentry)
9. Everything A Man Could Ever Need
10.It’s Only Make Believe
11. Pave Your Way Into Tomorrow
12. MacArthur Park
13. Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)
14. The Last Time I Saw Her
15. I Say A Little Prayer / By The Time I Get To Phoenix (Medley) (Glen Campbell & Anne Murray
16. The Last Thing On My Mind
17. I Knew Jesus (Before He Was A Star)
18. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
19. Houston (I’m Comin’ To See You)
20. Bonaparte’s Retreat
21. The Moon’s A Harsh Mistress

DISC THREE
1. Rhinestone Cowboy
2. Country Boy (You Got Your Feet In L.A.)
3. Arkansas
4. Don’t Pull Your Love / Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye (Medley)
5. Southern Nights
6. Sunflower
7. God Only Knows
8. I’m Gonna Love You
9. Can You Fool
10. Highwayman
11. Somethin’ ’Bout You Baby I Like (Glen Campbell With Rita Coolidge)
12. Any Which Way You Can
13. I Was Too Busy Loving You
14. Faithless Love
15. A Lady Like You
16. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (Glen Campbell With Steve Wariner)
17. I Have You
18. If These Walls Could Speak
19. Unconditional Love
20. She’s Gone, Gone, Gone
21. Show Me Your Way (Glen Campbell & Anne Murray)
22. Only One Life
23. Somebody Like That

DISC FOUR
1. You’ll Never Walk Alone
2. People Get Ready
3. Amazing Grace
4. Lean On Me
5. Times Like These
6. These Days
7. Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)
8. Ghost On The Canva
9. Waiting On The Comin’ Of My Lord
10. I’m Not Gonna Miss You
11. Everybody’s Talkin’
12. It Won’t Bring Her Back
13. Adiós

John Prine Joins Todd Snider On The Ryman Auditorium Stage

John Prine & Todd Snider | Illegal Smile
Screen grab via YouTube – Kimberly Lord

Over the Easter weekend the Jester King of Americana, Todd Snider, surprised his audience at the historic Ryman Auditorium by inviting John Prine , one of his musical mentors, on stage during the encore.

The longtime friends traded verses on the 1971 classic, “Illegal Smile,” an unintentional weed anthem of sorts perfect for the 4/20 revelry.

Of the song Prine sqys “I have to confess, the song was not about smokin’ dope, It was more about how, ever since I was a child, I had this view of the world where I can find myself smiling at stuff nobody else was smiling at. But it was such a good anthem for dope smokers that I didn’t want to stop every time I played it and make a disclaimer.”

Todd Snider with John Prine – “Illegal Smile”

Record Store Day 2019 – Americana and Roots Music Picks

Spring has sprung and for some antiquated reason we lose an hour of sleep, pollen lays waste to the weakest among us, people lay in fields Of bluebonnets just begging for a snake bite and the smell of vinyl hangs heavy in the air.

You might very well be asking yourself “Did I just read that right? Vinyl?”

Yes, indeed you did.

This Saturday, April 13th, is Record Store Day. That time when you drag your dead ass out of bed at the crack of dawn to stand in a line for the chance to score some choice limited-run vinyl.

The DIY movement that nearly single-handedly resuscitated a near-dead medium. New releases, obscure releases, long out-of-print re-releases, picture discs, colored discs, die-cut discs…it’s all there for a sometimes hefty price. But it’s cheaper than buying it later on eBay for 3-times the original price.

Here are a few Americana and Roots music nuggets from the list (see the full list here)

Highlights include Woody Guthrie’s first time on vinyl limited-edition 10″ “I Don’t Like The Way This World’s A-Treatin’ Me,” John and Lilly Hiatt song swap limited-edition color 7″ vinyl “You Must Go! / All Kinds Of People” and Lone Justice’s previously unreleased live performance from October 1983 at the historic live County music venue “Live at the Palomino.”

So, get to your favorite indy record early on April 13th (I’ll be at Good Records in Dallas) and share those great finds with me on Instagram and Twitter.


Allman Brothers Band – Bear’s Sonic Journals: Fillmore East. February 1970

Label: Allman Brothers Band Recording Company
Quantity: 1500
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
A live recording compilation drawn from three nights of shows in February 1970. Recorded by legendary Grateful Dead soundman Owsley Stanley. This special Record Store Day package includes a limited edition, numbered glow-in-the-dark poster.

In Memory of Elizabeth Reed/Hoochie Coochie Man/Stateboro Blues/Trouble No More/Outskirts of Town/Whipping Post/Mountain Jam

Bob Dylan Blood On The Tracks — Original New York Test Pressing
Label: Legacy
Quantity: 7500
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
Months before Bob Dylan released Blood On The Tracks in early 1975, a small number of test pressings were circulated, consisting entirely of material from sessions at A&R Recording Studios in New York City. (Dylan re-recorded five of these tracks in Minneapolis for inclusion on the final album.) Those original records were soon bootlegged, and the alternate history of one of Dylan’s most acclaimed works was born. This LP is an exact duplicate of the test pressing, containing unique mixes from the New York session, available commercially for the first time.

Side One: 1. Tangled Up In Blue 2. Simple Twist of Fate 3. You’re a Big Girl Now 4. Idiot Wind 5. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go Side Two: 1. Meet Me In The Morning 2. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts 3. If You See Her, Say Hello 4. Shelter from the Storm 5. Buckets of Rain

Steve Earle – El Coyote / Don’t Let The Sunshine Fool You
Label: New West Records
Quantity: 900
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
Steve Earle & The Dukes release their latest album, GUY on March 29.. The band holed up in Nashville and recorded the record over a six-day period. They came out those sessions with 16 songs featuring some of Guy Clarks most well known hits such as “Desperados Waiting For A Train”, “LA Freeway” and “Dublin Blues.” Steve Earle then decided to book a solo recording session with the intention of recording two more Guy Clark songs specifically for independent retail and Record Store Day. New West Records and Steve Earle are proud to present his solo recordings of “El Coyote” and “Don’t Let The Sunshine Fool You” pressed on a limited edition 7″ 45rpm record.

A – El Coyote / B – Don’t Let The Sunshine Fool You

Woody Guthrie – I Don’t Like The Way This World’s A-Treatin’ Me
Label: Omnivore Recordings
Quantity: 1500
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
In 1952, Guthrie wrote and recorded a song at home titled “I Don’t Like The Way This World’s A-Treatin’ Me.” The track appears on vinyl for the first time on a limited edition 10″ of the same name for Record Store Day 2019. Also found on this special release is a second version of the demo with new accompaniment from Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, who, along with Billy Bragg and Wilco, released a series of acclaimed albums featuring their interpretations of unearthed Guthrie lyrics. Mermaid Avenue, the first in the series, was nominated for a Grammy® in 2000.

If those two tracks weren’t enough, I Don’t Like The Way This World’s A-Treatin’ Me includes two versions of “Beech Haven Ain’t My Home” (a.k.a. “Old Man Trump”), whose lyrics were discovered within the Woody Guthrie Archives and chronicle the time the Guthrie family lived under landlord Fred Trump. As two drafts of the lyrics exist, the Riot-Folk Musician’s Collective’s Ryan Harvey combined them. This release contains a version by Harvey featuring Ani DiFranco and Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave), and another from Irion’s band U.S. Elevator.

Available exclusively for Record Store Day as a 10″ EP, I Don’t Like The Way This World’s A-Treatin’ Me is not only a historic but a musical document, released in conjunction and with full cooperation from the Woody Guthrie Archives. As stated in the album’s notes: “These songs were mostly written well over half a century ago, but they are songs for our times to be sure.”

It is truly time for this music to be heard.

Side One:
I Don’t Like The Way This World’s A-Treatin’ Me (1952 Home Demo) – Woody Guthrie
Old Man Trump – Ryan Harvey feat. Ani DiFranco & Tom Morello

Side Two:
I Don’t Like The Way This World’s A-Treatin’ Me – Woody Guthrie & Jeff Tweedy
Beech Haven Ain’t My Home (aka Old Man Trump) – U.S. Elevator

Emmylou Harris – The Studio Albums 1980-83
Format: 5 x LP
Label: Warner Bros
Quantity: 1000
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release

John & Lilly Hiatt
You Must Go! / All Kinds Of People

Label: New West Records
Quantity: 450
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
Lilly Hiatt is the critically acclaimed daughter of singer-songwriter legend, John Hiatt. In the fall of 2018 they got together to record a version of one anothers songs. John Hiatt covered, “All Kinds Of People” from Lilly’s heavily praised album, “Trinity Lane.” Lilly took on the daunting task of picking a song from John’s vast catalog. She picked a winner with “You Must Go” from John Hiatt’s 1995 release, “Walk On.” Together these songs are pressed onto a limited edition color vinyl 7″.

SIDE A: You Must Go! SIDE B: All Kinds Of People

Lone Justice – Live at the Palomino
Label: Omnivore Recordings
Quantity: 1700
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
MORE INFO
Previously unissued live performance from October 1983 recorded at Los Angeles’ iconic Palomino club. Features 12 tracks from the early Lone Justice line-up consisting of Maria McKee, Ryan Hedgecock, Marvin Etzioni, and Don Willens. Songs from their yet to be issued debut are coupled with classic country covers, and songs which have appeared on various collections throughout the years—but never with this live power from this L.A. landmark.

You Are The Light
Drugstore Cowboy
How Lonesome Life Has Been
The Train
Dustbowl Depression Time
Cotton Belt
This World Is Not My Home (I’m Just A Passin’ Through)
I See It
Working Man’s Blues
The Grapes Of Wrath
Working Late
Jackson

The Mavericks / Sweet Lizzy Project
The Flower’s In The Seed
Label: Y&T Music /Mono Mundo
Quantity: 1500
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
MORE INFO
A split 7” featuring Grammy-winning band The Mavericks on one side and The Sweet Lizzy Project on the other. The Sweet Lizzy Project is a new band from Havana, Cuba signed to the Mavericks’ new label. Both sides are produced by The Mavericks’ Raul Malo.

Mumford & Sons – Delta Acoustic Sessions | Live From Electric Lady
Format: 10″ Picture Disc
Label: Glassnote
Quantity: 3500
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release

“Delta Acoustic Sessions | Live From Electric Lady” features previously unheard acoustic recordings of four tracks from last year’s acclaimed album, “Delta”, pressed on a special 10″ Picture Disc.

SIDE A WOMAN GUIDING LIGHT
SIDE B WILD HEART IF I SAY

Leann Rimes – Live from Gruene Hall
Label: Everle Records
Quantity: 1000
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
MORE INFO
1. Pride and Joy 2. You Never Even Call Me By Name 3. San Antonio Rose 4. Wasted Days and Wasted Nights 5. Wonderwall 6. Nothing Better To Do 7. Blue 8. Streets of Bakersfield 9. The Bottle Let Me Down 10. Always On My Mind

Leon Russell – Live at Gilley’s
Label: Varese
Quantity: 1350
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
Leon Live was recorded on September 17, 1981, at the world-famous Gilley’s nightclub in Pasadena, Texas, with his New Grass Revival Band. Leon was in prime shape and the band was on fire that night. The album includes excellent versions of “One More Love Song” (the steel guitar gives the song a new twist), “Cajun Love Song,” and the show-stopping bluegrass tune, “Uncle Pen.” The release also features the Leon classics “A Song For You” and “Lady Blue.”